Invalidity benefit is an incapacity benefit and to extend the present therapeutic earnings limit to the level suggested would be incompatible with this concept. It is not possible to provide the information requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost in the tax year 1981–82 of including an additional 100,000 invalidity pensioners as qualifying for the long-term rate of supplementary benefit.

Information for the tax year 1981–82 cannot be given until November 1981 benefit rates have
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been announced, but the cost would be about £20 million at November 1980 benefit rates, on the assumption that the qualifying period would be one year. However, it is estimated that, if all invalidity pensioners were to qualify for the long-term rate of supplementary benefit after a year in receipt either of invalidity pension, or of supplementary benefit, or of both, then an additional 70,000 people, rather than 100,000, would receive the long-term rate at an annual cost of £15 million at current benefit rates.